It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Crowbar bassist/vocalist Roly Greenway (from Guelph) who died on December 22, 2020 after a brave battle with cancer. Out condolences to his family, friends and fans.
Yes indeed, Roly was one of a kind. I first met and saw Roly performing with the Ascots at the Concord Tavern ( presently the home of Toronto's largest Long and McQuade outlet) I was 13 or 14 working for my parents in the cloakroom, hanging up customers coats and glued to the band every moment I could.
Roly and Rheal were together back then and what a performer Roly was. I recall during our recent "Storm the Munk" visit where we converged on him at his home in Guelph and took him from a painful afternoon to a barrage of laughs, jokes and great memories that we had all shared over the years together. We knew he was declining and was awaiting placement in one of two local hospice locations, so along with some now legal influences and some toasting with some well aged double malt scotch, we proceeded to redirect his pains and finished with an early birthday celebration because we were unsure as to what visiting restrictions might be in place at the hospice, so we gave Roly a well deserved send off.
He bravely fought a long battle and chose to face up to the obvious results of declining any further treatments. We are so glad we made the visit and we know he felt the love.
Roly came to see Mo Kauffey and I at one of our many shows at the Wooly in Guelph several years back. We had met a few times, but he still kinda freaked me out because he was like royalty to me. When on our break, Roly treated me like an old friend and gave me some extremely kind words (which I will not share) that meant so much to me.
Well, CBC has finally finished its 100 Best Canadian Songs Everlistby revealing numbers1-25 earlier this week. Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now took top honours. Unfortunately, no local musicians were included this time. A few made it on the previous lists though. See below for more.
To celebrate guitar month (November) over at CBC Music, they selected the top 25 Canadian guitarists of all time. Two deserving, talented, local musicians made the cut: Daniel Lanois (13) and Luke Doucet (10). They are certainly in good company as the list boasts Neil Young, Randy Bachman, David Wilcox, Bruce Cockburn, Colin James and many other legends. Alex Lifeson of Rush took the top spot.
Below is the complete list:
25 & 24. Dallas & Travis Good (Sadies)
23. Kevin Breit (Sisters Euclid)
22. Ian Blurton (ex-Change of Heart, C'mon)
21. David Wilcox
20. Liona Boyd
19. Rob Baker (Tragically Hip)
18. Don Ross
17. Keith Scott (Bryan Adams)
16. Brian Connelly (Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet)
15. Patrick Pentland (Sloan)
14. Kim Mitchell 13. Daniel Lanois
12. Ed Bickert
11. Colin James 10. Luke Doucet (Whitehorse)
9. Randy Bachman (Guess Who, BTO)
8. Lenny Breau
7. Joni Mitchell
6. Rik Emmett (Triumph)
5. Neil Young
4. Bruce Cockburn
3. Robbie Robertson (The Band)
2. Jeff Healey
1. Alex Lifeson (Rush)